Reading Israel Regardie's The Art of True Healing - Part 5
I am working from the Helios Books edition 1970. The original was first published in 1937 and has been through many editions since, so yours may be slightly different to mine, but not in its overall ideas. There is a pdf copy available for free here which will do the job. It is a deceptively simple book which can be read through in no time at all. Full digestion and appreciation of it takes much longer though. For additional background and context I am also drawing from The One Year Manual by Israel Regardie, where he explains this practice in a different way, I have also referred to I Called it Magic by Gareth Knight (the man who set up Helios Books) as well as the 800+pages of the Golden Dawn teachings, as compiled by Israel Regardie.
How are you getting on with this?
Let’s have a recap.
Remember how we began this journey, with the words
“Within every man and woman is a force which directs and controls the entire course of life.”
In most people, most of the time, this force is directed toward career advancement, making money, writing a book, painting a picture, getting fit, bringing up children or generally working toward some defined goal. This force is FIRE, the light of enthusiasm. It is amazing what hardships can be endured and what obstacles can be overcome when you have something in your life that you really, really want to do.
In some people, sometimes, the light of this fire is almost extinguished, and what follows, usually, is some form of ill-health. This is why unemployment is such an evil in our society. Without purpose or meaning people seize up and wither away. We all need something to get up for in the morning, a challenge to meet and overcome, a task to perform. And often it doesn’t matter what that task is. You don’t have to wait to find ‘your thing’, you can just begin with the ‘next thing’ or even ‘some thing’ and that will generate a heat, a fire of enthusiasm and a light which permeates through every other aspect of life.
Of course, if you are already ill, already in pain, already suffering, then re-lighting that fire is the last thing you will want to do. Fortunately, there is another way.
This begins, as Regardie tells us, with a reconnection with wonder. If we can see that miracles do sometimes happen, somewhere, somehow in the world, then we might begin to believe that they could happen, one day, to us. We can encounter mini-miracles by approaching some of the exercises in the Hub, like Meeting Your Number, Past Life Exploration or Meeting Your Guide. If you can see that miracles are possible, then sooner or later you will want to experience a miracle yourself.
The fastest way to reconnect with miracles and begin to welcome them into your life is to set time in your schedule for them. Sure, it is true, as the great spiritual teachers Toto told us, that just like love, miracles aren’t always on time, but it is necessary to make space for them. The easiest way to do this is to practice rhythmic breathing, for example in for four, out for four, slowly and deliberately, nothing forced, everything completely natural, at allocated times during the day, every day. Don’t put anything ‘to the breath’. In other words don’t think about something or repeat any words, prayers or affirmations. Just breathe, naturally and normally, but deeply and deliberately.
This. Whole. Process. Is. Meant. To. Be. Slow.
Our modern world is completely disconnected from the cosmic order, and almost everything about it conspires to keep you distant from this practice. So, ignore the world, breathe and feel better.
Take as long as you need with these first steps. Months, years if necessary, just make sure you can do them well before attempting the next stages.
When ready locate the four centres inside the body, plus the one above it (see Part 3). Know their elemental correspondences (Feet = Earth, Genitals = Water etc).
Get used to forming a brilliant white light in the uppermost location, above the head, and drawing that light down into the four other centres, one at a time.
Then add the corresponding Hebrew magic words, speaking each one at each location.
Then make each sphere a different colour, from the top, white, lavender, red, blue, russet (reddy-brown).
Side note: if you are working with me on the topic of Elemental Gateway Cards then you can go straight to the next level and use a different colour sequence, talk to me about this).
Second Side note: if you are struggling to visualise any of this then talk to me as I have a new method which might help.
Aim to match up thought, sound and colour in each centre (sphere, location, or better still, vortex). Memorising the words will take time and practice. You may feel resistance. You may be anxious. All of these are obstacles to overcome. Your Dark Side does not want you to do this practice, because it knows that if you master it your life will get better, and a blow will be struck against the powers of darkness. Remember - the Dark Side is slippery and capable of generating all sorts of distractions and obstacles to prevent your progress.
You may find that one of the centres is easier than the others. Or you may find that you get stuck at one centre and find it hard to move the energy onwards from there. You may find that certain centres generate sensations that others do not. Do not worry too much about what this means, just steadily persist with the practice. There will be no problem with any of this so long as you do not force anything.
“Haste causes failure.”
“Failure brings disappointment.”
Impatience is bad, yet some kind of urgency to the work is necessary, because time is running out. You can’t just allow this practice to unfold when it is ready with you as a completely passive witness to it. You must be involved, actively trying to master it. And when performing the practice you must concentrate and focus. Yes, it’s work, because anything worthwhile is. If you want spiritual development to be all soft and fluffy then you are probably in the wrong place.
You may recall the symbol of all of the work that we do in the Hub is the double-barred cross, what I call the Second Cross. The full story behind it appears in Soul Strong Volume One, but essentially it is all about mastering the numbers AND the Elements, and this practice is our introduction to those Elements. Mastery of the Elements (of which this is step one) is the key to a magical life.
What we are doing here is establishing a new equilibrium for the body, in this world, for equilibrium is the basis of a healthy soul. When in a state of equilibrium, we are better able to resist germs, infections and external disturbances. Peace is an inside job. If we can practice, practice, practice this method then we will find ourselves much more able to enter into difficult conversations in challenging environments with confrontational people without losing our balance.
Do not over-think this. Read the book, read my commentaries here, and simply commit to doing it. Nothing bad will happen if you mis-pronounce the magic words. Nothing bad will happen if you sometimes jumble up the names of the centres. Nothing bad will happen if your mind wanders during the process (all that tells us is that you need to concentrate more). You may see and feel results immediately, or not until much later, it depends on how dormant your magical self is.
I am going to leave this here for a few weeks and will write the next part in September. This should give everyone plenty of time to make some progress. Talk to me in case of difficulty.
Read ahead in the book itself if you wish, but It is important to tackle each stage of the practice in turn, before proceeding to the next.
Repeated re-reading of both the book itself, and these commentaries is advised. The messages he communicates are deceptively simple and easy to overlook. The book is short but pretty much every sentence is valuable.
